WATERLOO – On Thursday, April 3, Laurier history professors will be holding a teach-in that looks beyond the headlines on the current crisis in Ukraine and Crimea.

Students and the general public will get the historical perspective they need to understand this challenging, complicated and critical event.

"To make sense of the current crisis we have to understand that Ukraine's borders have been in constant flux for centuries,” said Associate Professor Leonard Friesen, an expert on twentieth-century Russian history. “In some ways, Ukraine has a more legitimate claim on Moscow than on Crimea."

"China now sees itself as a superpower and it wishes to play a starring role on the world stage. The Ukraine crisis exposes the deep contradictions in China's foreign policy,” said Associate Professor Blaine Chiasson, a historian of modern China.

According to Associate Professor Kevin Spooner, author of an award-winning book on Canadian peacekeeping, "Canada's approach to the world and international organizations like the United Nations has changed rapidly over the past 20 years. The Ukraine crisis is a test of Canada's new place in the global community."

The teach-in is open to everyone and will take place in the Peters Building, room P2027 on Laurier’s Waterloo campus from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on April 3.